NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia—Hundreds of Russian scientists say companies abroad are refusing to sell them scientific equipment they need to do their work and Western publications are curtly turning down their research papers.
The reason, they believe, is a combination of sanctions against Russia over its involvement in Ukraine and rising hostility to Russia in the West seeping into the scientific community.
Since Russia annexed Crimea last year, it has become almost impossible for scientists in Russia to buy anything in the United States or Japan that has a dual purpose, said physicist Alexander Shilov, who works in the Institute of Laser Physics in Russia’s scientific hub of Akademgorodok, or Academy Town — part of Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk.
“Due to the sanctions” or “the conflict in Ukraine” are the most common explanations Shilov hears for refusing orders from Russia. “When they sell a piece of glass, how do they know whether we will use it in a military laser or a medical one?” he said.
